Saturday, October 11, 2008

Identity Theft from Inmates Running The Prison

Are the inmates running the prison when access to computers
by convicted criminals leads to the identity theft of innocent
people?


Identity Theft from Inmates Running the Prison







As a follow up to our popular series on identity theft by
prison inmates
, we share a brief story of at least a happy
ending to an otherwise dismal indictment of information
access by the wrong hands.

It appears a former Massachusetts prisoner managed to
without legal authorization gain access to 1,000 of the
prison's current and past employees
:

"Janosko allegedly found a way to manipulate
research computers so that he and other inmates
could access files that contained the names, birth
dates, phone numbers and Social Security numbers
of more than 1,000 current and former prison
employees, the DOJ reports."

While the convict was ultimately caught and is awaiting
conviction for his crimes, it causes us to wonder how
an inmate would even be allowed access in the first place
to internet research services containing highly sensitive
personal information such as:

  • Dates of Birth
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Phone Numbers

So, our tip for today is to guard well your personal information
as you really never know where it will wind up deposited online
where unfortunately a resourceful criminal can exploit the profit
motive to the detriment of your financial future & safety of your
family.

PS: Be a good friend or family member by passing this free tip
along to help in preventing identity theft credit fraud from
happening
to someone you care about.